Locking device



Sept. 23, 1941. w. A. HENN 2,257,008

LOCKINGDEVIGE Filed Oct. 12, 1938 2 Q BY Patented Sept. 23, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT orrice LOCKING DEVICE William A. HenmEvansville, Ind., assignor or one-half to John P. Frisse, Evansville, Ind.

Application October 12, 1938, Serial No. 234,593

1 Claim. (01. 20 -92) This invention relates to locking devices and has for an object to provide an improved construction for locking two or more pieces of wood together without the use of glue or other adhesive.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved fastening for securing two pieces of Wood together in a way to present a rigid connection between the' respective articles of wood.

A further object of the, invention is itoprovide an improved construction of connection between'a pin or other article of wood and a coacting piece of wood so that no part of either piece of wood will be injured during the fastening operation.

A further object more specifically is to provide a locking device for articles of wood, formed of metal and constructed as a truncated cone' so that when it is in functioning position it will lock the respective parts together either with or without fastening means.

In the accompanying drawing- Fig. 1 is an elevation partly in section showing two pieces of wood, an embodiment of the invention being shown in connection therewith and in full operative position;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the locking device before it has been forced into its functioning position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view on an enlarged scale of the locking device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through Fig. 3 approximately on the line 44;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. l but showing a round dowel pin instead of a square dowel pin.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numeral, I indicates a piece of wood, which may be part of a chair, furniture of any kind, or any other article, without departing from the spirit of the invention, while 2 indicates a second piece of wood, which may be a square dowel or piece of wood used for any desired purpose. The idea is to provide means for firmly connecting two or more pieces of wood together either with or without adhesive. The invention is preferably used without adhesive, as illustrated in the drawing, and acts to firmly hold the pieces of wood and 2 together. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the locking device 3 is formed as a truncatcd cone of bendable metal. As a matter of fact, this device is practically a cone-shaped ring having prongs or projections 4 at the small end and other prongs or projections 5 at the large end. When it is desired to use one of these locking devices for securing a dowel in place, the piece I which is to receive the dowel is provided with a bore 6 having a large section I and a smallsection 8.

. Heretofore when rungs'of chairs were to be insertedor in; other places where dowels were to be used, a single round dowel was formed and glue applied thereto. The end of the dowel was then inserted and some of the glue would squeeze out and be spread more or less around the surfaceof the article receiving the dowel. In the present invention the glue is preferably elim inated and instead of having a single round hole, the bore 6 is formed with an enlarged round section and a small section as mentioned above. The piece of wood or dowel 2 is shown as being rectangular but provided with a large round section 9 and a small round section I0, said sections fitting. the sections 1 and 8 respectively, asshown in Fig. 1, when the device is in full functioning position.

While the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2,- the locking device 3 is placed in position. The small end of the device is slightly larger than the reduced section H] of the piece 2, while the large end is slightly smaller than the bore or section 1, whereby the locking device may be freely slid on to the reduced section Ill and then the entire structure easily slipped into the bore provided. Preferably the sections Sand H] are made to fit rather snugly the sections 1 and 8 but not sufficiently tight to prevent easy insertion. However, when the parts have been moved together, the prongs 5 at the large end of the locking device will engage the piece I at the junction of shoulder II with the wall of bore 1, while the prongs 4 will engage the shoulder l2 of the piece 2 at the juncture of shoulder l2 with the surface of section Iii. When the dowel is forced into position by hand or pressure of any kind, the prongs 4 will gradually move into the section 9, while the prongs 5 will move into the block I. be distorted by having the central annular zone flattened more or less and pressed against the shoulders H and I2, as illustrated in Fig. 1. The inward movement of the dowel is continued until theslightly beveled surface l3 of shoulder 12 presses tightly against the center of the looking device 3. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the section 8 is slightly deeper than the length of section l6 whereby the parts may be readily forced tightly into position. Preferably the shoulder I4 is spaced a proper distance from shoulder I2 to engage the surface of the block I, as shown in Fig.

This will cause the locking device to v 1, when the locking device 3 has been forced into its full functioning position. As illustrated particularly in Fig. 1, the prongs 4 will enter the dowel at shoulder I2, but preferably will not enter the section 9 but will rotate somewhat and enter the section I U, as illustrated in Fig. 1, while the outer projections or prongs enter the block I. In addition to this slight rotary motion of prongs 4, the central zone will swing in relation to prongs 5 so that the device will, to a limited extent, turn inside out whereby the central zone will fit flatwise against shoulders I l and [2 while the prongs 4 and 5 extend into section HI and block I respectively. By reason of deforming and forcing the locking device 3 into the position shown in Fig. 1, the parts are locked together so that they will not become loose as the locking device pierces both parts. Also the dowel 2 cannot move outwardly without breaking the locking device or the block I as portions of the locking device are embedded in both theblock I and the dowel 2. It will therefore be seen that the locking device not only holds the dowel from becoming loose but holds the parts'from becoming separated and this is done without glue or injuring either of the parts in applying the device.

The construction may be as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, or if desired a round dowel 2 may be used and the locking device 3 caused to function in the usual way. While it is desirable to have the surface l3 beveled it could be made straight or on a plane at right angles to the axis of the dowel. If it were made in this manner the locking member 3 would be pressed or deformed to a position presenting a ring in a plane at right angles to the axis of the dowel instead of at a slight angle as shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

The metal of which the locking device 3 is made is sufficiently strong to lock the parts together, but is sufficiently ductile to be be readily deformed or pressed from the shape shown in Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, to that shown in Figs. 1 and 5 without breaking. Preferably the prongs or projections 4 and 5 are the portions which penetrate the section It! and also the block I so that the central section or zone of the locking device between these prongs will lie flatwise against the beveled surface 13. It will be evident that the device may be made in various sizes according to the requirements of the particular case.

While round holes and dowel pins have been shown in the accompanying drawing, it will be evident that the invention is equally applicable to elongated, square, or rectangular holes and similarly shaped dowels without departing from the spirit of the invention. As a matter of fact, the invention could be applied to mortise-andtenon joints though ordinarily the structure is as shown in the accompanying drawing, which is the preferred form. Also the device may be used either with or without adhesive. Adhesive has been shown at the bottom of the mortise in Figs. l and 5.

' I claim:

The combination with a pair of wooden pieces adapted to be connected-together, one of said pieces being formed with a bore having a large tubular section and a small tubular section with a beveled shoulder therebetween, and the other of said pieces being formed with a round end structure having a large section and a small section with abeveled surface therebetween, said sections and beveled surface being of a size to snugly fit'into said bore so that said beveled surface will fit flaltwise against said beveled shoulder; of a truncated cone-shaped locking device formed with a continuous uninterrupted annular central zone and spurs extending from each edge of the central zone, one set of said spurs projecting into the first-mentioned piece adjacent the beveled shoulder therein and the other WILLIAM A. HENN. 

